Williams leads Valkyries to WNBA championship, beating Dream 68-63 in Game 7

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Gabby Williams scored her team’s final 11 points of the third quarter and dazzled through the fourth on the way to 30 points, and the Golden State Valkyries captured a championship in just their second season by beating the Atlanta Dream 68-63 in a sensational first WNBA Finals Game 7 Saturday night.

Jordin Canada scored 18 points, Allisha Gray 16 and Angel Reese eight points and 12 rebounds for the Dream, denied another championship in the franchise’s fourth try.

Gray made two free throws with 11 seconds left then Atlanta forced a jump ball — Gray against Williams — and Veronica Burton corralled it and converted two free throws with 5.1 seconds to go.

Rhyne Howard’s layup tied it at 57 with 2:41 left only for Williams to answer once more by making a clutch 3-pointer. She converted two free throws with 1:40 remaining, then Kiah Stokes scored a late basket. She pulled down 13 rebounds and blocked two more shots to cap her spectacular postseason.

Williams left Seattle with a great feeling about joining Golden State and its close-knit culture, returning to the Bay Area where she played youth basketball to build something special with the Valkyries — and she’s now done that. Fans chanted “Gabby! Gabby!” throughout the fourth quarter.

When the final buzzer sounded, the violet-clad sellout crowd at Chase Center went into a frenzy as players sprinted onto the floor to hug and celebrate as confetti fell from the rafters.

“Ballhalla” had become “Boohalla” for this far-but-haunted Halloween night in the raucous arena. Now, with a women’s championship to its name right alongside the one earned by the Golden State Warriors in 2022.

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See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

Janie Mccauley, The Associated Press